ABSTRACT
This chapter finds the 'Helicopter' to be a potent, practical, measurable and enjoyable tool for increasing creative communication in classrooms. It emphasises children's autonomy and readily builds confidence. It places its focus on letting the child lead and accepting that lead unreservedly. The chapter uses strategies which allow adults to interpret, comment on and scaffold children's language within the interaction, leading to a true 'conversation'. The 'Helicopter' storytelling and story-acting technique encourages children to speak more, and more creatively, in the classroom, based as they are on experiences and preoccupations from the child's home world. It can be used successfully and adopted to include children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) or those with specific language difficulties. It allows children to make connections with and learn from each other in terms of language, ideas and themes.
